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Whip It Good

Brian, the first RPG Protagonist of the N64 itself. He is the commander of the 4 elements, along with his mighty staff, a simple ahoge, a cape, and just clothing. He doesn't get armor. He doesn't get upgrades. No, he gains power by increasing the strength of his elements through hard work and training.

What can he do? Brian is able to create water pillars, throw fireballs, send blades of wind, or even launch large rocks. His spellcasting capabilities are near endless.

Where does he come from? A gem called Quest 64, the first rpg on the Nintendo 64. It was a bright and colorful game full of Celtic music, tons of unique enemies, and NPC's who all had unique model designs. He has trained at Melrode Monastery for most of his life, rarely being outside of it till the game actually starts. His father, Lord Bartholomy went missing months ago, intent on finding a stolen artifact called "The Eltale Book", to hopefully bring peace back to the land. When he didn't return, it was up to our young hero to take the stage.

Using his wits, he was able to overcome monsters upon monsters, dungeons of various elements, and even humans who became corrupted by the power of the 4 sacred jewels. Now his elite knowledge and power can become translated to Smash, where his boundless attributes pave the way for a greater brawling. This is his time.

-------------------------

Now that the introductions are done, Brian is able to command the 4 basic elements. Due to this, there's multiple ways to include his proper abilities. It could be akin to Shulk's style change, where his spells would somewhat change what element they become, or it could be a mix-match much like Ness/Lucas do. The hard part is figuring out how to balance the character.

When you look at his best stats, or even on average, you realize a few things; First, he's not much of a jumper. All he does is a little bonus spin when you beat an enemy. He doesn't jump, climb, or swim at all in his game proper. Obviously making it impossible for him to do any of this is completely pointless. Instead, make that part of him not so good. He would climb slowly, not swim for long before drowning, and have poor jumping capabilities.

On the other hand, despite being a mage, he has trained himself to be able to take physical attacks fairly well. He'd have average defense considering his design. But then you get to the damage factor. He does not lack this, being strong with damaging moves. Likewise, the knockback for most would be kind of mediocre, with a few stronger moves intended to be more KO attacks.

But then we get the bigger issues, a proper recovery. At first, my thought was for him to use his teleport moves. But then I realized they don't translate well to Smash. Exit and Return would only bring him to the starting point of the stage at best. It'd make more sense if they were akin to Mewtwo or Zelda's teleport Up B's. A small issue is the distance. Being he has fairly bad jumping, making it have a decent amount of range works well at first, but then you realize that he technically should be able to go through walls. That does not balance well. Another thought is something more akin to a quick summon. He could use a pair of Wings that would let him fly up(more akin to Pit in Brawl), but most notably, this would compensate for his horrible jumping.

Other ideas exist, but the focus overall is on all 4 elements. Once you get a good recovery style down, the rest is easier to make. In general, a gimmick is another difficult part. One idea is that he has a magic meter of sorts. It slowly fills up. Depending what magic he uses, some of it is stronger or weaker. At lowest, he can barely cast or use weak spell versions. While the idea has similarities to Robin, this including almost all of his arsenal. Likewise, his Staff itself would be strongest at full power, but it also would mean that using any spells(even recovery) would drain it.

A: Staff Swing
AA: Staff Cross
AAA: Head Stave
Running A: Homing Arrow 2
Forward A: Rock 1
Down A: Staff Trip
Up A: Wind Cutter 1
Smash A: Rock 2(Rock 3 full charge)
Smash Down A: Hot Steam 1(Hot Steam 2 full charge)
Smash Up A: Wind Cutter 2(Wind Cutter 3 full charge)
Air A: Wind Wall(if it hits an enemy, it may give them more weight, and slow them down)
Air Forward A: Large Cutter(he swings his staff forward, creating a large blade of wind, slicing forward for a few seconds)
Air Down A: Ice Knife(he points his staff downward and 4 blades of ice appear around him, cannot freeze, or do much, but looks rather sweet)
Air Up A: Fire Pillar
Air Back A: Homing Arrow 1(he stabs his staff backwards, creating three red arrows that spin around it, doing mediocre damage)
B: Fireball 1(Fireball 2 with slight charge, Fireball 3 with full charge)
Down B: Water Pillar 1(Water Pillar 2 with slight charge, Water Pillar 3 with full charge)
Forward B: Cyclone
Up B: Return/Exit(Return teleports him a certain distance equal to 1/3 inches times his current damage, directly towards the edge, and it will grab the edge if
applicable. Exit is the same as Mewtwo's Teleport, but only is in use while on the ground.)
Z: Grab
Z + A: Head Stave
Z Forward: Fire Bomb(he launches them forward in a lowball shot while they're encased in flames)
Z Downward: Ice Wall(light blue clouds appear around Brian, possibly freezing the enemy, doesn't move them very far or do much damage though)
Z Upward: Wind Walk(just throws them high into the sky, and the character launched goes much slower for 5 seconds than normal)
Z Backward: Rolling Rock(the character is send rolling on the ground backwards a few feet, if it hits someone, there's a small chance the hit character may join the
opponent in a rolling frenzy)
Air Dodge: Escape(similar to Mewtwo's, slightly longer, and isn't seeable where he happens to be like Mewtwo is)
Supermove(s)
When Brian grabs the Smash Icon, he gets 2 seconds to choose a following move by pressing Up, Back, Down, or Forward on the Control Stick. Default is
Forward.
Up: Extinction(The ultimate fire spell selects the highest damaged opponent, and if they have over 100% and more than 1 Life, then lose a stock(but stay in the same
place))
Back: Avalanche(The extremely powerful rock spell launches Boulders in a similar fashion to Onix's Rock Throw from SSB64, with wider range, but much less
height. The damage is 10% per boulder)
Down: Walking Water(This giant water spell starts by creating a Water Pillar 3 itself, and sending it forward for tremendous damage, but little knockback. Causes
about 20% to each opponent)
Forward: Ultimate Wind(Unlike the other spells, this one targets all opponents, including weak monsters if applicable. They take 30% damage each.)
If Brian has 150% or more, the moves change to these.
Up: Power Staff 2(A red beam appears below Brian and shoots upwards...doing no damage, though. For 30 seconds, he does double the damage he normally
would for pure Physical attacks only)
Back: Magic Barrier(a small red bubble creates over him, and then a somewhat larger bubble goes around him. For 20 seconds, all non-physical attacks, including
items, do absolutely nothing to Brian. However, Fans will break his shield even with a weak attack or throw. And Shield Breaker destroys it automatically.)
Down: Healing Level 2(Brian heals 30% damage onto himself.)
Forward: Weaken All(all opponents cannot use their normal shield for 10 seconds)
Taunt: He lifts his staff above his head, and circles it, then slams it into the ground.
Winning Taunt 1: He spins his staff and jumps up, via his classic winning taunt from Quest 64.
Winning Taunt 2: He puts his hand up to his staff and his staff is in a horizontal position, then creates a Red X that falls onto him, basically backfiring a Silence spell
and casting it on himself.
Winning Taunt 3: He quickly runs, then falls on his face. His staff stands up by itself, and glows a bright yellow, then finally dances for a little bit.
Costumes-
White
Brown/Blue
Green
Yellow
Red
Weight: 2
Power: 4
Speed: 3
Jump: 2
Usage: 1
Keep in mind I made this back during Brawl speculation.

Notably has pieces from Blue Cave and Crystal Valley, showing off both houses as well.

Hazards include Pixies using Silence Lv 2, which can disable special moves for a short time, though it won't stop any currently active. It does not go through shields.
Grangach fires off a Walking Water, which covers most of the field and deals a decent amount of damage with little knockback.
Thunder Jell does what is does best, using Homing Arrow Level 2, which can pelt almost anyone for a small bit of damage, slightly slowing them down like if they were hit by Mario's fireball.
Finally, Termant will slowly go after anyone nearby, and lift up before hitting with its forelegs. If the sweetspot hits, it acts similar to a Smash attack with massive knockback. It however can rather easily be taken out with a small amount of attacks.

Each hazard represents an appropriate element, being Wind, Water, Fire, and Earth. Kiliac's pirate ship can also slowly come by from time to time, acting as another platform. I have not mapped out the full platform spots, but will add the details as it comes up.

No ideal music, that said. For explanations, Kobolds are dog-like in this game. Goblins look a lot like Wario. Merrow is an ice character, Orc Jr. is basically a really ruff dog, and Were Hare is a druidic rabbit in a cloak(Fox has something similar of a design). The Lip Mii is close enough to Princess Flora(both with plant-like stuff), Robin is a Wind-like mage to some degree enough to fit Leonardo(plus good coloring), and Kiliac is a pirate. The Wyverns are dragons. Yep. King Dedede is the only other major hammer wielder, not unlike Solvaring, Dark Pit is a dual-wielding master with wind-like capabilities, while Inkling is the closest to Nepty's fishgirl status, and Mario is pretty close to a perpetual frowner with fire powers like Fargo. Bowser is somewhat close to a gruff half-ogre enough, while Ganondorf now has a sword and is pretty much an evil King. Lastly, Mammon is fairly bug-like but still a demon, so Ganon comes close.

The first battle takes place inside a Castle, due to Solvaring's surprise attack where he summons some monsters. Second one is close enough to West Carmagh, where all 3 are founds. Pokemon Stadium 1 goes through different elements, like your 3 partners you'll soon have for a few fights. Brinstar is a very cave-like area by design, much like where you fight the Wyvern and Red Wyvern. Coincidentally it's a Metroid stage. The Great Cave Offensive is a perfect spot to represent multiple areas of where you fight the bosses. Dracula's Castle is... well another castle. And finally, Reset Bomb Forest is fairly similar to Mammon's World in design.

https://imgur.com/a/06YRJEM On another note, the user ThatShadowLink
has provided remade proper various logos via the official Smash design. We worked together to get these. I provided the original images and he did an amazing job at fixing them up! In order to properly view the images, click on them to enlarge.

Smash Legend

As always, I support Brian from Quest 64. I had memories of playing Quest 64 over 19 years ago (ugh... I feel so old). I didn't even finish the game because I didn't have the N64 controller pak at the time and I had to return it to Blockbuster (ugh... I'm officially old).

Whip It Good

As always, I support Brian from Quest 64. I had memories of playing Quest 64 over 19 years ago (ugh... I feel so old). I didn't even finish the game because I didn't have the N64 controller pak at the time and I had to return it to Blockbuster (ugh... I'm officially old).

I'm 33. I played it when the game first originally came out. I had the same issue, but eventually bought a controller pak.

What's kind of neat is that thanks to the Japanese version and the Gameboy Color remake(as well as maybe the spin-off puzzle game), more ideas for how to balance/create moves can come up. For instance, if you max out your elements in Eletale Monsters(Japanese version), all multi-projectile attacks get a ton more projectiles. This could be used for the final smash, as some kind of Elemental Overdrive. It has a similar idea to Mega Lucario, but the idea is that it only enhances projectiles instead. I forget how much it adds, as I'd have to double check the GameFAQs topic, but it does sound like a promising move. Being he still would have strong knockback moves like Rock or Water Pillar, it should still work out well.

Smash Legend

We have had Virtual Console since 2006... it's 2017 now and Quest 64 still isn't available. It's not like it's a licensed game like The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle. Then again, we didn't get that many N64 games on Virtual Console

We have had Virtual Console since 2006... it's 2017 now and Quest 64 still isn't available. It's not like it's a licensed game like The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle. Then again, we didn't get that many N64 games on Virtual Console

My guess is there's more to it than just Imagineer still owning the series. Possibly they have to pay royalties to them as well as the artists who created the music, and considering they'd want to sell this at 10 dollars like general n64 VC games, one thought is they don't think it will sell enough to be worth programming a proper memory pak option. Since they can't legally modify the game, they don't have many other options.

Smash Legend

I'm glad Nintendo consoles now can save your game progress and we don't need memory cards like we used to with N64 and Gamecube.

It really was unfortunate that Quest 64 needed a controller pak to save progress when other N64 games like Ocarina of Time and Banjo-Kazooie didn't.

Have you come up with Brian's moveset? I was thinking that maybe Brian could have a special move that changes the magic elements of his staff. It could be like Shulk's Monado Arts except Brian's staff cycles through the magic elements.

Whip It Good

I have it somewhere on these forums. It was mostly focused on filling out the moveset in places that work. Not specifically a "gimmick" of sorts at the time. It has no major focus at all.

This version has 4 major spells for his Final Smash, depending upon what buttons you pressed quickly after B to initiate it. Up for Fire, Down for Water, Left for Earth, and Right for Wind. You had Extinction(removes 1 stock from the opponent as long as they have more than one, otherwise would increase their damage to a high percent), Healing Level 2(brings Brian back to 0%), Avalanche(akin to PK Starstorm, but the boulders are bigger, it hits more randomly, and has a bit more knockback and damage), and finally Ultimate Wind(hits everyone for massive damage with no knockback, and cannot be blocked by a shield, invincibility, etc.).

I dropped that Final Smash idea a long time back due to balance issues. Avalanche and Ultimate Wind are kind of reasonable, but the other 2 are not.

Anyway, I think the idea of using a magic meter(that has a number on it) to perform at his best could work. Using better abilities/spells would decrease it more. You'd still have the 4 basic spells, but if you tried to use something else while you are down to 1 magic, it would fizzle out. Moving around would slowly refill it, but using physical staff attacks would refill it more reliably. Basically, using the game's own MP system as his key gimmick.

Here's some ideas for his 4 basic spells and what they're mapped to;

B - Fireball(Tap for a single shot. Hold for a double shot. Full charge for a triple shot)
Down B - Water Pillar(Tap for a small pillar. Hold for a larger pillar. Full charge for a huge pillar)
Forward B - Rock(Tap for a small rock. Hold for a larger rock. Full charge for a huge rock)
Smash Up A - Wind Cutter(Tap for a single cutter. Hold for 3 cutters. Full charge for 5 cutters)

Tap would use 1 MP, Hold would use 2 MP, and Full Charge uses 3.

Now let's look at some Level 2 options.

Smash Down A - Hot Steam(In this case, the aura will expand depending how much you hold down. Tapping does a very small aura of steam. It has a small bit of stun time no matter how much, but little knockback and better damage.)
Air Back A - Homing Arrow(Just activating it gives you three arrows surrounding you. Constantly tapping it creates 5)
Smash Forward A - Magma Ball(The difference here is a little more unique than others. Tapping shoots out 1, holding shoots out 2, and full charge shoots out 3). However, unlike the other Level 2 options, this is closer to a Level 3 spell technically. Anyway, this would force a hit enemy to drop an item, remove any temporary enchantments, cannot be absorbed or reflected. The damage is always the same no matter what, based upon how many balls hit.

For those, tapping would use 2 MP, holding would use 3 MP, and full charge uses 4 MP where applicable. In Air Back A's case, it only uses 3 MP due to you not doing a full charge, but something equivalent to the holding option, which is tapping over and over.

It's pretty difficult to incorporate all the spells without making him doing a stance change. One thought is the taunt does this.

As for Up B, as I said, it'll probably be Wings. One thought is that he throws up a pair and summons a monster related to the color. Red would be Red Wyvern, Green would be Wyvern, Yellow would be Cockatrice. Hard to say for Black, Blue, and White.

Smash Legend

The MP system sounds interesting. What's the maximum MP Brian can have? Could 100 MP be reasonable and more than enough considering fully charged Smash moves would use more MP and nearly all of Brian's moves use MP.

I'm also fond of the idea of Brian being similar to the Magician from Fantasy Life (one of my favorite 3DS games).

Whip It Good

The official max amount is 500. I'm thinking going with 15 possibly. Maybe a bit higher. The idea is he can still be usable, but has to charge his MP from time to time. One thought for a move is based upon Drain Magic. Using it would give him some MP back, but also heal the opponent in return for that. Say, 10 for 10. The idea is it's kind of weak, but also doesn't heal much for balance.

Well, you could always watch a Youtube LP. There's also some videos that showcase all 60 spells(15 per element). It's surprisingly easy to find the spells, even if it's not through a wikia/wiki(I'm still working on the Quest Wikia. It's not easy. >.<)

Smash Journeyman

Sure, I'll support this good boy. Despite this probably never happening, I can't really say anything agaisnt it though, since I myself want a character that's never getting in as well being Kao the Kangaroo, so I can really relate.

Whip It Good

If it helps, I'm working on a far more interesting moveset. Details still being finalized, but the suggestions about "changing elements" were taken into account.

Right now, balancing factors are the biggest concern, same with other key data for the full mechanics. It also relates to how I originally had an MP Meter, but I feel the Elemental Charge system is better. It has some slight similarities to Aura, but far more unique.

Did you suddenly find a hack or fanfic where she plays a bigger role other than the normal one?

Or more so not just being a simple manipulator. She is responsible for multiple deaths in-game by proxy, though it's hard to say if her goal was to have the villains killed or just for Brian to make his way to free Mammon. The villains being killed could've just been something that wasn't on her mind. She notably doesn't understand human life well, so it's probably the latter.

Smash Journeyman

...As if I wasn't in enough threads as it is, LST. Look what you've made me do.

Anyways, I never played the other two Quest games...and I don't think it's developer (Imagineer) really cares about the series too much. I didn't see anything about the Quest games on their website, and it's been over twenty years since the last main game (not counting the 2000 GBC demake and the spin-off game). To be honest, I can't think of anything inherently memorable about the game's world or story, and I replayed it earlier last year...

But good god do I miss this lad. Don't have pictures, but who has one thumb and dressed up as Bryan for Halloween? Not this man (I have two thumbs), but I still dressed as him for Halloween when I was six or so. It was an odd character to attach to, considering there was also Megaman Volnutt to compare Bryan to. Still, I ended up making a walking stick based on Bryan's when I was in High School...but I only had realized after I finished (the first one...it wasn't good. I made the second one better; I'll try to find it later!). That was a puzzler for certain, considering I forget a lot about the game itself.

...Also My memory cards died and I could never save my progress, making each and every playthrough a speedrun (maybe that's why I have a hard time remembering everything except the field battle music and the pipe fanfare?). At this point, I'm sure you've figured out I'm a supporter.
-----------------

Whip It Good

...As if I wasn't in enough threads as it is, LST. Look what you've made me do.

Anyways, I never played the other two Quest games...and I don't think it's developer (Imagineer) really cares about the series too much. I didn't see anything about the Quest games on their website, and it's been over twenty years since the last main game (not counting the 2000 GBC demake and the spin-off game). To be honest, I can't think of anything inherently memorable about the game's world or story, and I replayed it earlier last year...

But good god do I miss this lad. Don't have pictures, but who has one thumb and dressed up as Bryan for Halloween? Not this man (I have two thumbs), but I still dressed as him for Halloween when I was six or so. It was an odd character to attach to, considering there was also Megaman Volnutt to compare Bryan to. Still, I ended up making a walking stick based on Bryan's when I was in High School...but I only had realized after I finished (the first one...it wasn't good. I made the second one better; I'll try to find it later!). That was a puzzler for certain, considering I forget a lot about the game itself.

...Also My memory cards died and I could never save my progress, making each and every playthrough a speedrun (maybe that's why I have a hard time remembering everything except the field battle music and the pipe fanfare?). At this point, I'm sure you've figured out I'm a supporter.
-----------------

I did actually update my moveset slightly. What thoughts do you have? The two I created are a fill-in the blank style with very fitting moves(basically somewhat like Villager, bar having an actual gameplay mechanic) and the second one, in spoilers as well, is about changing to other elements and powering them up. Basically Pokemon Trainer + Lucario in a sense. It's better explained in there.

One of the users here, who I call Midna normally, a huge Lip fan, helped inspire me to get the second moveset working. I had no idea how to properly get each element as its own working right, but that all changed when the Brannoch Nation attacked.

I should clarify more on the first moveset; it's pretty simple. I took moves that fit the spots and carefully thought it out. It didn't include much stuff like animations, though.

Second moveset is far more fleshed out; Down B changes to another element in a cycle. Each element fills out the moves and every attack is similar for the appropriate button. B has a status effect type of move. Forward B is always a type of unique project that goes right/left. Up B is Wings. It has two actual Final Smashes. One maxs out your elemental power, while the other does a huge cutscene attack.

Smash Journeyman

Well, I believe that, before we can talk about a character's moveset, we must talk about that character's physical properties.

- Brian is a young boy living in a monastery. Given his age and art style, placing him around the height of Toon Link makes sense.
- Brian is not physically adept, having honed his mind and magical acuity over the years. These attributes, we can assume Brian to be, at base, among the slower characters. His standard jumps are not particularly high, making conventional recovery more difficult.
- Brian, as stated prior, is a magic character. One of his in-game abilities is to escape from battle via teleportation. This would make for a useful dodge ability, be it on the ground or in the air.

We then look to his game's mechanics and try to derive a gameplay style out of it:

Brian is from a turn-based RPG that also utilizes dynamic battle arena generation (AKA the outlines of the battle). Fighting in Quest 64 is as much about harming the opponent as it is about outmaneuvering them and actively dodging attacks. As you gain experience, you can level up one of four magical elements, with your choices affecting what abilities you will learn.

- From this information, we can claim that Brian would be a zoning character. His moveset would have to work around the concept of keeping opponents away while harming them with magical force.
- We also know that he can choose from one of four elementsto make stronger.

With all of this in mind, I can't say that I like either of the two movesets you've brought up:

- The first is solid and basic, which I like, but It needs some zest.
- The second is needlessly complicated.

Thus, I would propose a hybrid of these two moveset concepts: Take the first one's non dynamic moveset, but boost their effects with the element selecting properties of the second one. That way, you have a character with their own gimmick that isn't garishly complicated.

Taunts
Up Taunt: Some sort of pose where he spreads his arms and the wind blows his cape up briefly?
Side Taunt: Puts a hand to his hip and taps his staff to the ground. Glow-y magical stuff optional.
Down Taunt: Shakes his head in utter disappointment of your failures. AKA think about how he acts when you press the interact button in-game when there's nothing to interact with.

Victory Animation 01: Swings his staff a few times before striking a pose, the way he does on Quest 64's cover art.
Victory Animation 02: Opens a chest with his staff, recoiling in surprise as an item bag pops out. Smiles at the end, so that his victims can see how pleased he is with himself. He knows what he did. He knows.
Victory Animation 03: Spins his staff in the air, then jumps up while performing an aerial fist pump. His standard victory animation in Quest 64.

Special MovesNeutral Special: Spirit Boost
- Hold to select an element, and tap to rotate to the next. Temporarily boosts Brian's moves that correspond to that element. Includes additional damage to normal moves and additional properties to the corresponding special move or Smash move.
-- Effect is denoted by a colored aura at the tip of Brian's Staff.
-- Duration is reduced through using the corresponding moves, and removed when using the corresponding Special or Smash. That element then goes into a cooldown. This means usage of these powered-up moves is a situational bonus for the user rather than a timed annoyance for the opponent.
-- There is no Fire Special. Instead, all of Brian's Staff attacks get a damage boost. This does not reduce the timer.Side Special: Ice Wall
- Creates a protective wall of ice that damages and slows enemies. Short-Range.
--When Spirit Boosted (Water), the wall is larger and freezes enemies if hit while it is conjured.Down Special: Magic Barrier
- Counter move. Does not damage but knocks opponents back.
-- When Spirit Boosted (Earth), increases knockback effect and reflects projectiles.Up Special: Wind Walk
- Similar to ROB's Up Special, grants Brian boosted movement in the air. While slow (leaving him vulnerable to spikes or punishment), This helps to counteract his horrible jumping abilities and increase his aerial game.
- When Spirit Boosted (Wind), increases Up Special's duration.

Smash MovesUp Smash: Ice Knife. A lance of ice that has respectable range. Useful for punishing opponents above you.
-- Freeze Effect if Spirit Boosted.Side Smash: Power Staff. A wide swing that can be angled.
-- Launches a potent fireball when Spirit Boosted.Down Smash: Wind Bomb. Wind gushes out around Brian, providing respectable damage, but pushes nearby opponents away who weren't hit by the attack.
-- Pushback and Knockback increased when Spirit Boosted.Final Smash: Ultimate Element. Depending on the element (Cannot be Spirit Boosted) currently in use (Or the one last used if not using one. If one has not been used the whole match, it defaults to Fire.), will perform one of four abilities:
-- Rock Shower: A barrage of Rocks coming from the top of the screen. The slowest but strongest projectiles. It is dumb-fired like Ness/Lucas'.
-- Extinction: Meteors are dropped from the top of the screen. They explode on impact with the stage. It is dumb-fired like Ness/Lucas'.
-- Ultimate Wind: Razor-edged blades of wind rain down from the top of the screen; the fastest projectiles of the four elements. It is dumb-fired like Ness/Lucas'.
-- Blizzard: Rains down ice spears from the top of the screen. It is dumb-fired like Ness/Lucas'.
--- Each of these have a meteor effect if hit by the projectile before it makes contact with the stage.

Normal Moves

Jab: Overhead Swing. Not a combo or rapid jab.
-- Significantly stronger with Spirit Boost (Fire).Forward Tilt(s): Homing Arrow.
-- Short ranged fiery projectile. Can be angled.Down Tilt: Water Pillar.
-- Quick, and launches the opponent in front of Brian upwards.Up Tilt: Cyclone
-- An upwards launching projectile that carries opponents up a fair ways (Think: Megaman Up Aerial).Dash Attack: Rolling Rock
-- Brian lunges with his staff before falling over. He conjures a rock that rolls forward as he gets back onto his feet.
--- Spirit Boost gives Brian Super Armor during the lunge animation.

Grab Pummel: Staff bonk; the ultimate disrespect. Significantly stronger with Spirit Boost (Fire).
Back Throw: Thrown back then hit with a Wind Cutter. Boosts knockback with Spirit Boost (Wind).
Forward Throw: Thrown forward then hit with a wind cutter. Boosts knockback with Spirit Boost (Wind).
Up Throw: Thrown up then hit with a wind cutter. Boosts knockback with Spirit Boost (Wind).
Down Throw: Drops a rock on the opponent. Buries opponent with Spirit Boost (Earth).

Neutral Aerial: Three rocks quickly fan out and orbit around Brian; Magnet Rock. No special effect from Spirit Boost (Earth) outside of increased damage.Forward Aerial: Swings the club in a two-handed overhead motion. This sends Brian back down to the ground, but can be cancelled with a jump (Or up-B). Spikes the opponent during the initial swing. Significantly Increased damage with Spirit Boost (Fire).Backwards Aerial: Blows out steam at an opponent; multi-hit move. No special effect from Spirit Boost (Fire) outside of increased damage.Up Aerial: Brian swings his staff over his head. Has two Spirit Boost effects.
--Fire: Significantly Increased damage.
--Wind: Creates a short-ranged wind cutter projectile.Down Aerial: Brian swings his staff beneath him. Has two Spirit Boost effects.
-- Fire: Significantly Increased damage.
--Earth: Spikes opponents.

The main problem I had with this moveset was giving some elements proper representation; water has little in the way of combat abilities (pokey ice stuff or water pillars) without having to create new ones, Earth is 90% just throwing rocks at people, Wind is...Well...Wind-y blades.

An alternate Up-Special concept was to have Brian ride a water pillar upwards (damaging opponents caught in it), but it felt...odd, in my head.

EDIT1: Weather's foul here. Didn't write in a Dash Attack, and when I realized I didn't? Wanted to make sure I got the post out.
EDIT2: Added in a Dash Attack.

Whip It Good

Well, I believe that, before we can talk about a character's moveset, we must talk about that character's physical properties.

- Brian is a young boy living in a monastery. Given his age and art style, placing him around the height of Toon Link makes sense.
- Brian is not physically adept, having honed his mind and magical acuity over the years. These attributes, we can assume Brian to be, at base, among the slower characters. His standard jumps are not particularly high, making conventional recovery more difficult.
- Brian, as stated prior, is a magic character. One of his in-game abilities is to escape from battle via teleportation. This would make for a useful dodge ability, be it on the ground or in the air.

We then look to his game's mechanics and try to derive a gameplay style out of it:

Brian is from a turn-based RPG that also utilizes dynamic battle arena generation (AKA the outlines of the battle). Fighting in Quest 64 is as much about harming the opponent as it is about outmaneuvering them and actively dodging attacks. As you gain experience, you can level up one of four magical elements, with your choices affecting what abilities you will learn.

- From this information, we can claim that Brian would be a zoning character. His moveset would have to work around the concept of keeping opponents away while harming them with magical force.
- We also know that he can choose from one of four elementsto make stronger.

With all of this in mind, I can't say that I like either of the two movesets you've brought up:

- The first is solid and basic, which I like, but It needs some zest.
- The second is needlessly complicated.

Thus, I would propose a hybrid of these two moveset concepts: Take the first one's non dynamic moveset, but boost their effects with the element selecting properties of the second one. That way, you have a character with their own gimmick that isn't garishly complicated.

Taunts
Up Taunt: Some sort of pose where he spreads his arms and the wind blows his cape up briefly?
Side Taunt: Puts a hand to his hip and taps his staff to the ground. Glow-y magical stuff optional.
Down Taunt: Shakes his head in utter disappointment of your failures. AKA think about how he acts when you press the interact button in-game when there's nothing to interact with.

Victory Animation 01: Swings his staff a few times before striking a pose, the way he does on Quest 64's cover art.
Victory Animation 02: Opens a chest with his staff, recoiling in surprise as an item bag pops out. Smiles at the end, so that his victims can see how pleased he is with himself. He knows what he did. He knows.
Victory Animation 03: Spins his staff in the air, then jumps up while performing an aerial fist pump. His standard victory animation in Quest 64.

Special MovesNeutral Special: Spirit Boost
- Hold to select an element, and tap to rotate to the next. Temporarily boosts Brian's moves that correspond to that element. Includes additional damage to normal moves and additional properties to the corresponding special move or Smash move.
-- Effect is denoted by a colored aura at the tip of Brian's Staff.
-- Duration is reduced through using the corresponding moves, and removed when using the corresponding Special or Smash. That element then goes into a cooldown. This means usage of these powered-up moves is a situational bonus for the user rather than a timed annoyance for the opponent.
-- There is no Fire Special. Instead, all of Brian's Staff attacks get a damage boost. This does not reduce the timer.Side Special: Ice Wall
- Creates a protective wall of ice that damages and slows enemies. Short-Range.
--When Spirit Boosted (Water), the wall is larger and freezes enemies if hit while it is conjured.Down Special: Magic Barrier
- Counter move. Does not damage but knocks opponents back.
-- When Spirit Boosted (Earth), increases knockback effect and reflects projectiles.Up Special: Wind Walk
- Similar to ROB's Up Special, grants Brian boosted movement in the air. While slow (leaving him vulnerable to spikes or punishment), This helps to counteract his horrible jumping abilities and increase his aerial game.
- When Spirit Boosted (Wind), increases Up Special's duration.

Smash MovesUp Smash: Ice Knife. A lance of ice that has respectable range. Useful for punishing opponents above you.
-- Freeze Effect if Spirit Boosted.Side Smash: Power Staff. A wide swing that can be angled.
-- Launches a potent fireball when Spirit Boosted.Down Smash: Wind Bomb. Wind gushes out around Brian, providing respectable damage, but pushes nearby opponents away who weren't hit by the attack.
-- Pushback and Knockback increased when Spirit Boosted.Final Smash: Ultimate Element. Depending on the element (Cannot be Spirit Boosted) currently in use (Or the one last used if not using one. If one has not been used the whole match, it defaults to Fire.), will perform one of four abilities:
-- Rock Shower: A barrage of Rocks coming from the top of the screen. The slowest but strongest projectiles. It is dumb-fired like Ness/Lucas'.
-- Extinction: Meteors are dropped from the top of the screen. They explode on impact with the stage. It is dumb-fired like Ness/Lucas'.
-- Ultimate Wind: Razor-edged blades of wind rain down from the top of the screen; the fastest projectiles of the four elements. It is dumb-fired like Ness/Lucas'.
-- Blizzard: Rains down ice spears from the top of the screen. It is dumb-fired like Ness/Lucas'.
--- Each of these have a meteor effect if hit by the projectile before it makes contact with the stage.

Grab Pummel: Staff bonk; the ultimate disrespect. Significantly stronger with Spirit Boost (Fire).
Back Throw: Thrown back then hit with a Wind Cutter. Boosts knockback with Spirit Boost (Wind).
Forward Throw: Thrown forward then hit with a wind cutter. Boosts knockback with Spirit Boost (Wind).
Up Throw: Thrown up then hit with a wind cutter. Boosts knockback with Spirit Boost (Wind).
Down Throw: Drops a rock on the opponent. Buries opponent with Spirit Boost (Earth).

Neutral Aerial: Three rocks quickly fan out and orbit around Brian; Magnet Rock. No special effect from Spirit Boost (Earth) outside of increased damage.Forward Aerial: Swings the club in a two-handed overhead motion. This sends Brian back down to the ground, but can be cancelled with a jump (Or up-B). Spikes the opponent during the initial swing. Significantly Increased damage with Spirit Boost (Fire).Backwards Aerial: Blows out steam at an opponent; multi-hit move. No special effect from Spirit Boost (Fire) outside of increased damage.Up Aerial: Brian swings his staff over his head. Has two Spirit Boost effects.
--Fire: Significantly Increased damage.
--Wind: Creates a short-ranged wind cutter projectile.Down Aerial: Brian swings his staff beneath him. Has two Spirit Boost effects.
-- Fire: Significantly Increased damage.
--Earth: Spikes opponents.

The main problem I had with this moveset was giving some elements proper representation; water has little in the way of combat abilities (pokey ice stuff or water pillars) without having to create new ones, Earth is 90% just throwing rocks at people, Wind is...Well...Wind-y blades.

An alternate Up-Special concept was to have Brian ride a water pillar upwards (damaging opponents caught in it), but it felt...odd, in my head.

It's why I gave him Wings or a Wind Walk(teleort) variant depending the moveset. I found that having each element use similar moves would make it seem easier for him to be workable. Also, nice information and analysis of his physical properties. I entirely agree he shouldn't be easily mobile or stuff like that. He definitely isn't lack in defense or offense, but I think it should be balanced alone based upon the strength of his abilities. I also didn't use Magic Barrier cause of its game breaking status. However, it would make for a really good animation for his shield, with double bubbles. Maybe when using any defense spells, his shield could last slightly longer, or at max Earth, it would do that(in the case of the second moveset I made, which is Elemental Change and Elemental Charge).

Having a Bad Fur Day

I'd like to be added to the support list! Brian could have a very cool moveset, and I believe he'd stand out among the roster as a really unique character. There aren't a whole lot of magic users on the roster.

Whip It Good

I'd like to be added to the support list! Brian could have a very cool moveset, and I believe he'd stand out among the roster as a really unique character. There aren't a whole lot of magic users on the roster.

And especially none that use a staff. Rosalina is kind of close, but she's not really a magic user. With her wand and all. She's more akin to a psychic in some ways. Though it seems like they associate her and Peach with magic. Zelda obviously is a magic user, and Ganondorf's a magical monk of terror. I'm trying to think of who else actually uses magic in Smash right now.

Having a Bad Fur Day

And especially none that use a staff. Rosalina is kind of close, but she's not really a magic user. With her wand and all. She's more akin to a psychic in some ways. Though it seems like they associate her and Peach with magic. Zelda obviously is a magic user, and Ganondorf's a magical monk of terror. I'm trying to think of who else actually uses magic in Smash right now.

I may have been incorrect in saying that there aren't a whole lot of magic users in Smash... though that isn't to say Brian wouldn't be unique, because his spells can work in creative ways never before seen in Smash. Anyway, here's the magic users I found:

Whip It Good

I may have been incorrect in saying that there aren't a whole lot of magic users in Smash... though that isn't to say Brian wouldn't be unique, because his spells can work in creative ways never before seen in Smash. Anyway, here's the magic users I found:

I did forget Robin. Lucas and Ness use Psychic abilities, not unlike Mewtwo(and hell, even Shulk).

Anyway, yeah, Brian isn't just a magic user, he's one based around nature and the elements. He's druid-like(there's an implication that he could be an offshoot of one, but overall he's known as a Spirit Tamer in-game. Actual Druids are retired, cannot do magic, and are alive and well in Normoon. Brian himself was taught at Melrode Monastery, so the type of class could be related to where people were taught. It would explain why the boss spells are different too. The monsters exist due to the theft of a book, causing the "Day of Grief", so they seem like many could actually be corrupted animals. In fact, many are literal ones. Were Hare, Were Cat, Hell Hound, Big Mouth, and more. Others are some of your traditional stuff. Like Goblins and Orcs. Kind of interesting what's going on. I hope, if the game gets remade, they delve more into the lore. Having some kind of bestiary would be perfect, especially since Soul Searcher is a spell. Maybe a perfect use of the Eletale Book? I mean, it caused them to appear, so why not.

Getting back on track, I have two movesets up there. One is about switching and empowering elements. The other is a simple mishmash(akin to most characters). I feel him having a mechanic stands out more than just your elemental mage.

Having a Bad Fur Day

I did forget Robin. Lucas and Ness use Psychic abilities, not unlike Mewtwo(and hell, even Shulk).

Anyway, yeah, Brian isn't just a magic user, he's one based around nature and the elements. He's druid-like(there's an implication that he could be an offshoot of one, but overall he's known as a Spirit Tamer in-game. Actual Druids are retired, cannot do magic, and are alive and well in Normoon. Brian himself was taught at Melrode Monastery, so the type of class could be related to where people were taught. It would explain why the boss spells are different too. The monsters exist due to the theft of a book, causing the "Day of Grief", so they seem like many could actually be corrupted animals. In fact, many are literal ones. Were Hare, Were Cat, Hell Hound, Big Mouth, and more. Others are some of your traditional stuff. Like Goblins and Orcs. Kind of interesting what's going on. I hope, if the game gets remade, they delve more into the lore. Having some kind of bestiary would be perfect, especially since Soul Searcher is a spell. Maybe a perfect use of the Eletale Book? I mean, it caused them to appear, so why not.

Getting back on track, I have two movesets up there. One is about switching and empowering elements. The other is a simple mishmash(akin to most characters). I feel him having a mechanic stands out more than just your elemental mage.

All of that is very interesting! I'll have to check out those movesets. It sounds like Quest 64 had a lot of story to it, it's a shame it never got a sequel... Do you know the circumstances of the game's release? Like was it successful? Did it become popular? This is a game I am considering playing and I never really heard of it before, I'm interested in learning more.

Whip It Good

All of that is very interesting! I'll have to check out those movesets. It sounds like Quest 64 had a lot of story to it, it's a shame it never got a sequel... Do you know the circumstances of the game's release? Like was it successful? Did it become popular? This is a game I am considering playing and I never really heard of it before, I'm interested in learning more.

The game didn't do all too well. Praised for a few things, but sold kind of poorly. It was advertised as an answer to FFVII. It definitely didn't deliver that. If the story wasn't super simple, and it hard party members, it might've done a bit better. It was meant to have a monetary system too. The previews showed a lot that never made it in. So people being harsh on it is fairly understandable. It didn't give you what was advertised/teased at all. Even his main name changed before the US release from Jack to Brian. Incidentally, Jack is effectively his Japanese name overall.

Having a Bad Fur Day

The game didn't do all too well. Praised for a few things, but sold kind of poorly. It was advertised as an answer to FFVII. It definitely didn't deliver that. If the story wasn't super simple, and it hard party members, it might've done a bit better. It was meant to have a monetary system too. The previews showed a lot that never made it in. So people being harsh on it is fairly understandable. It didn't give you what was advertised/teased at all. Even his main name changed before the US release from Jack to Brian. Incidentally, Jack is effectively his Japanese name overall.

It could be the battle system, the music, the unique monster designs, the love of elemental power...

But yeah, the sequel was supposed to have at least two playable characters, and apparently another element(might've been light). I think the main issues were mostly resolved in the Japanese version, and the last one(item sorting) was in Jack no Daibouken, the Japanese version of the Gameboy remake. So I don't know if anything beyond a better story at best is needed, if Quest RPG: Brian's Journey didn't already resolve that factor. I guess ridable animals might be neat? A monetary system isn't necessary, though it wouldn't be a bad thing. The game works pretty well with only treasure chests/item drops/NPC gives items, though.

I will note that while it has only one character in your party(though Quest RPG gives you three more characters as a team, but they do not appear in battle and only help through the story), this also works well as a turn-based game. You know how some strategy games has a set order of characters that go, based upon agility? It's similar here. It'll always be "first person with highest agility", and then it continues scrolling through you/monster/you/monster, etc. Bosses go second automatically. It sounds more complicated than it is if you go into details, but you'll always get a turn right after a monster, as long as you can physically do something. Whether it's cast a spell, use an item, or attack with your staff. There can be cases where none is available and you need to skip your turn(if none are available, you either cannot move far enough to whack someone with your staff or that you're frozen in place. On another note, being frozen does not prevent a monster or you from using spells or physical attacks if the appropriate character is in range. Monsters are dumb A.I. and always skip their turn for no good reason. They are likewise to do that while under a Restriction spell, which is the same thing as being Frozen, just wind-related. However, Silence, due to not preventing movement, won't affect them in the same way. All monsters will move if they can, but unless they can physically attack you, will do nothing that can hurt you overall.

There's other weird oddities among the series, but once you played all the overall games(due to the variations, there's effectively 5 different games in how they're played, due to massive changes. 4 of them are the same story, being any of the US or UK games(the Spanish version of Quest 64 is like the US game, but partially in Spanish. Otherwise, it's literally the same cartridge, just modded to release it unofficially in Mexico) will play with zero differences beyond languages. The Japanese version, Eletale Monsters, is a majorly updated version with unique small stuff. And a small addition to the story. Quest RPG is a Gameboy remake. Later on came Jack no Daibouken, its Japanese version, with other nice changes that make the game better in many ways(and improves what an enemy can do, so makes it harder). The last one is Quest Fantasy Challenge, a puzzle game as a reskin of Mr. Do! with more weapons and enemy variation(and arguably way more difficult), which has a UK variant that shares the same name as the N64 rpg's, Holy Magic Century, but are identical save the language options.

Taunt 1: He lifts his staff above his head, and circles it, then slams it into the ground.
Taunt 2:
Taunt 3:
Victory Screen 1: He spins his staff and jumps up, via his classic winning taunt from Quest 64.
Victory Screen 2: He puts his hand up to his staff and his staff is in a horizontal position, then creates a Red X that falls onto him, basically backfiring a Silence spell
and casting it on himself.
Victory Screen 3: He quickly runs, then falls on his face. His staff stands up by itself, and glows a bright yellow, then finally dances for a little bit.

If I find another good render, I might be able get a banner. Also, do check out what I already have in the first post. I'll add more as it comes up~